26 Y/o Guy. Severe Anxiety??? Desperate... Posted: 07-21-04 16:05pm
Please bear with me, this might be a long
read, but your advice would be so much
appreciated...
I'm a 26 year old male, 5'5, 150 lbs, not
physically active, but not in bad shape
either. I have had a history of systolic
hypertension (ie. 160-180/85-90), ever
since I was a little boy (probably due to
nervousness).
The last two years have been pretty
depressing for me as I have lost a high
paying job and have since have had to
settle for a job that pays 1/3 as much,
had my car reposessed, and so on... There
are other issues, such as love, etc, which
I will not be getting into, but have been
causing me some worries as well.
Now, recently, things had been going
really well. I had been working on a new
business venture, started exercising,
eating better. Basically, I was feeling
great.
I had been working very hard on my
business venture, staying up very late,
dreaming of it, etc... Then one night, I
decided to do a little cardio-exercise.
It was hot & humid and had not been
able to do more than 15 minutes of it.
When I stopped, I noticed I was a little
lightheaded, but I had attributed it to
exercise.
The next morning (friday), hypochondriac
as I am, I decided to do a little research
on what had caused the lightheadedness.
When I started reading about heart-related
stuff, I suddenly became very faint.
Nothing was turning, but it felt like I
was going to pass out. I decided to go
home. My girlfriend, who has a panic
disorder with agoraphobia suggested to me
that I had experienced a panic attack.
That weekend, I had experienced everything
from tight throat, muscle tension, chest
pains, cold-clammy hands & feet,
fast-irregular heartbeats. The dizziness
never went away.
The next work week, I was so convinced
that my dizziness was caused by something
physical, that I decided to do some
further reading. I actually though I had
congestive heart failure. I suddenly
began developping symptoms of the disease,
such suckers of breath, cough, etc...
That night, I decided to drive myself to
the emergency room, where I would see the
first doctor in my lifetime. You see,
apart from being a total hypochondriac, my
overwhelming fear of death has made me
avoid doctors. This is due to my "no news
is good news" mentality.
Anyway, that night, they ran a quick ecg
of my heart. I normally have an irregular
heartbeat at rest, but my heart was
beating so fast, that the ecg was normal.
My bp was at 198/120 however!!! Anyway,
my heart was not enlarged, which was my
biggest worry. I was reassured, about my
heart anyway...
That friday, I decided to go to the clinic
to get my bp checked and followed. It was
160/90. Not bad, for me anyway. The
doctor gave me some klonopin and told me
to come back a week later for a followup.
I took the klonopin for 3 nights, but I
was completely zombied-out the entire next
3 days, so I stopped taking them. I went
back to my follow-up exam. My blood
pressure was 155/85. I'll take that. I
assume that my nervousness brought it up a
bit. What ticks me off is that I had
brought a list of my symptoms to the
doctor to ask him which could be
attributed to anxiety and stress. He
didn't want to listen to my symptoms and
told me I needed some psychological
help.
So anyway, since he didn't want to listen
to my symptoms, I hope you guys will. The
first weekend, I had the classic
symptoms... Lightheaded, tightness in the
neck, chest pains, diarrhea, jolts which
would keep me awake every time I would
dose off, etc...
Fine. But for the past 3 weeks, I have
been having the following symptoms, non
stop...
- constantly lightheaded 24/7 especially
after eating
- can't concentrate on anything buy my
health
- extremely tired during the day even
though I sleep very well now.
- increasing weakness
- shaky trembling feeling
- stools that go from light to dark, soft
to hard, & vice-versa
- food in stools
- aching all over bones & joints
- clencing teeth
- stiff neck
- sweating at night
- arms fall asleep at night, even when
placed at my sides.
- left arm getting more and more numb.
Today, I was feeling a little better so I
decided to try a quick 4 minute
cardiovascular workout. When I stopped, I
was extremely lightheaded and have been
that way all afternoon. I feel like
passing out even as i'm writing this
message.
What is going on with me? I know that all
my other symptoms are probably due to
stress & anxiety, but what about the
lightheadedness? It was the symptom that
started all this, it's the one that
causing all my other symptoms, and it's
the only one that never goes away! It's
getting worse even! If I weren't
lightheaded like this, I would be fine, I
know it! When I talked to my doctor about
it, it's always "pff, that's anxiety". If
it is, why did it start out of nowhere,
and why does it get worse with exercise?
Anyway, I went for blood tests yesterday
to rule out anemia, diabetes, etc, and to
finally start a record of my health. I
should get the results back in a week or
two. This too is causing me a little bit
of anxiety.
Has anybody ever been constantly dizzy
like this? I hate it and I don't know how
much more of this I can take. It's like I
had 6 glasses of wine and the buzz never
left. When I close my eyes, i'm okay.
But when I open them, it's like as if
nothing's real. And it doesn't seem to be
getting any better.
I would love to hear from you guys and
some of your experiences. Has anybody
ever had anything chronic like this?
Thank you so much! I hope i'll get though
this one way or another.
|
lyricbaritone
New User, Becoming EHEALTHy
Joined: 21 Jul 2004 Posts: 31 Location: Minnesota
Dizziness Posted: 07-21-04 23:50pm
Hey, there. I'm sorry to hear that
things are so rough right now. Know that
you're among friends though i'm new to
this forum, i've had my share of anxiety,
and have been experiencing it again
recently after about five anxiety-free
years. The first time around, I had what
I thought were heart-related symptoms that
went away with medication and therapy.
So if your symptoms truly are anxiety,
take heart -- there is hope!
As far as the dizziness intensifying after
you work out -- it sounds like you are
doing everything you need to be doing to
check that out. Bp sounds a bit high to
me, but the docs can treat that easily if
needed. I totally understand the stress
you are going through right now, because
the first time around, it took 3 ekg's, a
24 hour heart monitor, and an
echocardiogram to convince me I was
actually ok. That's extreme. If your
tests are coming back negative, then trust
that. Take consolation in that. Get a
second opinion if you need to, but after
that, try treating the anxiety.
Sometimes it helps to have a name to pin
things on!
In general, anxiety breeds anxiety. A
symptom breeds a symptom. We all
experience anxiety differently, and, if
your symptoms are truly anxiety, then you
experience it as lightheadedness and
tingling in your limbs. These are not
uncommon symptoms. And, since you first
experienced these symptoms while working
out, your brain may now link working out
with a "scary" situation. This is simply
your body's response to try to protect you
from harm. So, it alerts you, "hey, this
was bad before. Stop!" so you get
dizzy, and once you get dizzy, you get
worried, and you get more dizzy, and more
worried -- the vicious feedback loop of
anxiety.
There are lots of things you can do to
break that loop. I won't go into them
here because they're mentioned all over
this forum.
You didn't mention any meds -- did your
doctor(s) start you on anything? When I
first started having anxiety symptoms, I
started taking ativan/diazepam as needed
for the panic attacks (a benzodiazepine;
similar meds are valium and xanax) .
These would make me lightheaded for
several hours at a time, and have the
"hangover" feeling you described. I
can't imagine what it would have felt like
to try to do anything active in that
state! I was also put on zoloft (an ssri
-- there are many out there these days
including prozac, paxil, luvoz, lexapro,
and celexa). When I started it, I had
the stomach problems as well as almost
constant lightheadedness, dizziness, and
tingling sensations in my face and arms.
These symptoms would come back every time
I ramped up to a higher dose, but would go
away as soon as my body got used to the
dose. Again, physical activity was out
of the question.
So that's my experience. I hope it is in
some way helpful to you. Let us know how
things are going. You're in my thoughts
and prayers!!!
Thanks paul! Your reply was more than I
would ever have expected! It means a
great deal to find people who can
understand. My girlfriend has a history
of panic attacks, but they are under
control with paxil. She can understand me
a little bit, but my problem isn't really
panic attacks. At least not at the
moment. It's more of a chronic thing.
I'm sitting here at work, and I seem to be
just as spaced-out as yesterday, even
after a good night's sleep. It's like
whenever I do something to worsen the
dizziness, it never goes back to it's
previous state. It just seems to get
worse. Or maybe it's just my perception.
But I must say that I feel "extra" spacey
today, even more than when this whole
ordeal started 3 weeks ago. Even though I
had my heart checked out briefly and was
told that it was fine, there is still this
little part of my mind that thinks there
might be a blockage in a main artery or
something. But then again, my high blood
pressure readings prove that there is
plenty of blood going through my body.
I was put on klonopin (clonazepam) for a
week to make me calm down, but it made me
extra tired, extra dizzy, and it made my
muscles feel like jell-o. I went to play
a 9 hole of golf while I was on the
medicine and my muscles were stiff for a
week! That freaked me out even more,
thinking I had ms and all that stuff. So
I stopped taking them.
When I went to the er the first time
thinking I was having some type of heart
failure, they laughed and looked at me
like I was a freak, and they told me to
treat my anxiety. When I went to get my
blood pressure checked at the clinic and
told the doctor my other symptoms, he
laughed and told me it was anxiety. When
I followed up with him a week later and
tried to explain my dizziness, he just got
ticked off and told me I needed serious
mental help. No neurologist appointment
or anything. He doesn't seem to
understand that I want to rule out any
physical problems before I get started on
mind altering medications and take up a
psychologist's time, and my time for that
matter. At least, he sent me to get some
blood tests done. That's a start, but
it's only to start a record of my health.
I still have to find myself a family
doctor, and they are extremely hard to
find. But I still would really would like
to get my head checked out. I know I
probably don't have a brain tumor or
anything like that because i'm not really
having any major headaches, but I would
still like to be reassured that there is
nothing wrong inside my head. It would
probably the key to make me stop worrying,
and thus stop feeling lightheaded.
Instead, the doctor told me to see a
psychologist before my next visit.
What frustrates me is that I really don't
feel nervous or anxious at all. I'm
sitting here all calm and relaxed, my
heart is beating at 60 beats per minute.
The same is true when I relax in front of
the tv during the evening. No symptoms of
anxiety whatsoever. My bowels are okay
now, I have a really good appetite, I go
outside for walks, go to the mall, etc...
Yes, I still tremble during the night and
my arms are still always falling asleep,
but I feel fine otherwise. But the
lightheadedness is always there. Which is
the reason i'm always double-guessing the
cause of the lightheadedness. Yes, I
still worry constantly about this whole
thing, but it doesn't seem to be causing
any other symptoms of anxiety. So i'm
stumped.
The mayo clinic web site says that
lightheadedness is usually caused by one
of three things:
- vestibular disorders : doctor ruled it
out
- hyperventilation : I breath very calmly
and slowly.
- anxiety disorders : they mostly mention
panic attacks, so ???
Are there any medications that are
especially good for lightheadedness? A
pharmacist had given me some gravol, but
it just made me fall asleep before I could
tell if it worked or not. Hee hee. And
it lowered my heart rate to something like
45 beats per minute. Which I didn't like
at all.
I would really like to find a definitive
answer to all this. I wake up every
morning hoping that i'm okay, but no hope
yet. Maybe if I get blood tests which
reveal nothing, I will be able to stop
worrying. But for now, I guess i'll just
have to live with it.
Are there any good books that I can read?
I heard that the anxiety & phobia
workbook is very good.
Thanks again.
Wayne
|
PattyV
Extremely EHEALTHy
Joined: 01 May 2004 Posts: 1103 Location: Chicago area
Posted: 07-24-04 09:37am
I really feel for you.It's a shame your
doc was so short with you.Telling someone
who is anxious to wait 2 weeks for test
results is a horrible thing to do.I know
bloodwork can take some time,depending on
what they are looking for,but 2 weeks is
crazy!I was engaged to a man with all the
classic panic disorder symptoms,waking in
a cold sweat,chest pain,shortness of
breath.I called 911 the first few times
and spent many hours in the e.R. With
him.It was not his heart as he always
said,but anxiety.His mom and sis both had
panic disorder,but he could not accept
this diagnosis.After all he was a 6foot
biker,it was his heart and that's all
there was to it.He went to many docs and
spent many more nights in the e.R.Only to
be told it was not a heart attack.This put
a huge strain on our relationship as you
might imagine.Every time I would try to
discuss wedding plans, a trip to the e.R.
Would soon followif I tried to talk about
what was stressing him out,another trip to
e.R.I could not help him,he would not help
himself,i left.!@ years later,he is still
making regular trips to e.R.,only now,he
drives himself and alternates hospitals to
see if anyone will tell him different.Stop
reading about what it could be,you will
only make yourself worse.If all your
results come back negative(okay),maybe
some therapy would not be a bad idea along
with some medsstress and anxiety can make
you sick,but there is hope if you find the
right doctor.I would see another doc if I
were you,someone who will listen to you
and try to help you.They're out there,you
just have to find them.Maybe ask your
girlfriend for the name of her doc.Best of
luck to you!Patty
|
lyricbaritone
New User, Becoming EHEALTHy
Joined: 21 Jul 2004 Posts: 31 Location: Minnesota
Inner Ear Disturbance? Posted: 07-27-04 23:00pm
I was reading edmund bourne's the
anxiety and phobia workbook, and came
across this quote under "medical
conditions that can cause panic attacks or
anxiety":
"for a small proportion of the population,
panic attacks seem to be associated with a
disturbance in balance caused by swelling
of the inner ear.... If dizziness,
light-headedness, and/or unsteadiness are
a prominent part of your problem with
anxiety or panic, you may want to
consult an otolaryngologist [ent] to
check the labyrinth system of your inner
ear." (bourne, 41).
I know you said your doctor ruled out
vestibular disorder; then again, if he was
a gp, he may not have the tools to make
that call. Not to call his diagnosis
into question, but it does seem that a
second opinion from the ent may be
merited. However, trust the results if
they come back negative this time.
Even if you have started counseling or
have seen a psychiatrist already, I would
highly recommend this book. It will
help answer a lot of questions. I found
it at my local barnes & noble, but i'm
sure you can find it at your favorite
bookstore or online.
Still sending prayers, love, and positive
energy your way!
Paul
|
purple333
Extremely EHEALTHy
Joined: 01 Dec 2003 Posts: 1420 Location: Sydney
Some Alternatives Posted: 07-28-04 03:32am
Go back to paul's first post where he
talked about how you get
"dizzy, and once you get dizzy, you get
worried, and you get more dizzy, and more
worried" this cylce will continue &
even get worse until you put something in
place to halt the cycle!!
So to some alternative ideas for a
solution(some of which might also help
your girlfriend):
1) yoga, meditation, relaxation.
2) sound/light &/or ces machines (cost
about $200 - dynamind.Com)you can do some
reading to see all the things they can
help & how but in brief, sleep,
anxiety, depression, headaches etc.
3) natural meds like sam-e, 5htp, dhea,
valerian, vitamin b etc.
4) counselling - but find one that you are
comfortable with - see them a few times
& if you are not comfortable try
someone else.
5) cbt - cognitive behaviour therapy -
often courses are free or cheap at
universities or hospitals etc & run
over 6-12 weeks (your girl friends
agoraphobia might be helped by this) - see
if you can get a hold of a book by sam
obitz "been there, done that, try this".
|
panicbeast
New User, Becoming EHEALTHy
Joined: 03 Aug 2004 Posts: 2 Location: virginia
Posted: 08-03-04 22:42pm
Hey look up you just havent found your
escape I have the same thing but now I can
control it. First step back and see what
might be causing you to feel like this
constantly and also find a med your
comfortable with try to take something
that doesnt require a head change just use
something like xanax to keep from the er.
All of us that have this are going to tell
you something different because its
effects are different for all of us but
not to say someones advice will work but
its in you to do it and you can.I'm on
imipramine with paroxetine and they really
work for me but you have to find what
works for you. Find a place your
comfortable and clear your mind this is
hard to but first you have to find a place
that does'nt have sudden noises and people
comming in and out. This is your time and
you need it try 30 min to a hour put soft
music or a fan something that doesnt allow
noises from in the house or outside
(phone,cars,etc.). I enjoy a fan blowing
with x-mas lights. Have them blink it
works for me. But find a peace of mind
relax your fine. Just be creative, it
will take your mind off it to.Try a
coloring book while watching the weather
channel it sounds stupid but these things
work for me you just have to find your
way. And have someone stern but
understanding to talk to you to tell you
your fine.Look you will be ok just try
these things.
|
Haley
Experienced User , Rather EHEALTHy
Joined: 23 Feb 2004 Posts: 122
Posted: 08-10-04 00:18am
My cbt group lasted 12-weeks and was
great! We also had a party a week after
it ended it was focussed on
anxiety and panic disorder and lots of the
people in my group suffered agoraphobia
too. We used the obitz book and another
really good book called mastery of your
anxiety and panic-third edition by
michelle craske and david barlow in my
group and I recommend both of those books
all the time. Good luck to you and your
girlfriend.
|
jurplesman
Experienced User , Rather EHEALTHy
Joined: 24 Jul 2004 Posts: 139 Location: Sydney Australia
Anxiety Attacks Posted: 08-12-04 22:49pm
Reading these posts it is clear that here
are a lot of angles to consider, thus I
want to add another one.
Please check yourself with the nbi at our
web site. This is a paper-and-pencil test
for hypoglycemia. If you score high you
could have this checked with a doctor who
can test you with a special test for
hypoglycemia (described at our web
site).
If you are hypoglycemic you would have all
the symptoms that you are describing, and
the treatment is fairly simple; namely
adopting the hypoglycemic diet.
This diet stops the excess secretion of
adrenaline in response to insulin
resistance, that causes excessive
variations of blood sugar levels feeding
the brain and the consequent release of
excess adrenaline.
I went to the hypoglycemia site found the
nbi & tried to access it but no luck
on three tries!!?? This may be the
current computer i'm using as it's old
& my new one is yet to arrive &
this one is driving me nuts but then i'm
sure other people have old computers &
it accesses other sites ok, so any
suggestions alternative ways to access the
nbi????
|
jurplesman
Experienced User , Rather EHEALTHy
Joined: 24 Jul 2004 Posts: 139 Location: Sydney Australia
the Nbi Posted: 08-13-04 22:30pm
Hi purple333,
the nutrition behavior inventory is
available at our web site. It is a pdf
file, so you need an acrobat reader. The
latter is available free of charge.
Go to "newsletters" and there is a link to
an acrobat reader.
An alternative is to go to a public
library and try to download it from the
library. Make several copies of it.
The nbi is also available in my book
"getting off the hook". This should be
available from public libraries in
australia.
Otherwise try the book by
schauss, ag(1980), "diet, crime and
delinquency", parker house, berkeley,
cal.
This is the original nbi by alexander
schauss.
Of course testing for hypoglycemia is
,more accurate if done by a doctor. See:
"testing for hypoglycemia and how the
doctor can help"
but this is more expensive and not very
pleasant for a hypoglycemic person.
The hypoglycemic diet is specifically
designed for people with a mental illness,
because it stabilizes blood sugar levels,
and thereby insulin and stress hormones.
The latter two are said to be responsible
for the symptoms associated with mental
illness. It needs to be adjusted to the
individual biochemistry of the person, and
needs to be accompanied with vitamins and
minerals, known to be deficient among the
mentally ill.
It takes about three months to have an
effect, for most people, depending on
circumstances. When a person has been
using drugs (medical and/or illegal) it
may take much longer (9-14 months) for the
body to rebuild receptors for normal
natural neurotransmitters.
It is not advisable to withdraw from drugs
except under doctor’s supervision and the
hypo diet helps to speed up the
withdrawal.
Thanks - i'll try & get to the library
or wait till my new computer arrives - I
realy am not sure how much this one can
take - it keeps crashing & I can only
read 1/2 a side of the page at a time
which as you can imagine is driving me
insane & makes posting or
understanding others posts very hard!!
|
jurplesman
Experienced User , Rather EHEALTHy
Joined: 24 Jul 2004 Posts: 139 Location: Sydney Australia
Posted: 08-14-04 02:15am
I can just imagine what you are going
through. If my computer crashes I am in
real trouble.
I hope everything is alright when you get
your new computer.
Doctors laughing at the patients
complaining about bad physical
symptoms? And these doctors don't even
have the time to listen to
the patient's list of symptoms and send
them straight to a shrink for
a misterious mental health problem?
Can anybody tell us the shape and color of
this mental health problem?
It's like they already know something but
don't want to tell the patient.
Patients with heart disturbances that are
being told that this is not a
heart problem? If you don't believe the
patient, how about if you start
believing his heart just by putting your
hand over his chest. Is this
too hard to do?
And why are all these postings about
psychiatric medications in the
"anxiety" thread? If these medications
help a bit, at least for awhile, does
that means that the panick attack patients
belong to the psychiatric
patient community?
|
Steph101
New User, Becoming EHEALTHy
Joined: 05 Oct 2004 Posts: 3
Posted: 10-05-04 10:47am
Please understand carefully what I am
about to write.
Usually, people displaying anxiety
symptoms ( I used to be one), will be in
constant fear and worry. Now this causes
physical reactions in your body that your
brain is commanding. The first thing you
need to do is count and observe, only for
a minute, how you are breathing. How many
breaths are you taking in a minute? Is
the breath coming from the gut, or the
chest area?
Now, trust me on this please. Even if you
think you are going in extreme panic,
please slow down your breathing to 4
seconds inhale, 4 seconds exhale and pause
for 2 seconds. Do this for a couple of
days and you will see, that your symptoms
will dissappear.
|
fgautier
New User, Becoming EHEALTHy
Joined: 18 Sep 2004 Posts: 11
Posted: 10-07-04 12:11pm
Breathing is visceral and therefore what
you recommend doesn't
solve the real physical problem that
affects the patient's breathing.
Everybody that sleeps is still breathing
and I do not think that they
are aware of this (otherwise they would
not sleep, right?) in order to
control it.
Therefore your assertion that you got rid
of the physical symptoms
caused by fear (one of the main
psychiatric lies) through breathing
exercises (or cognitive behavior therapy,
whaterver you want to call it)
is phony.
The real issue with someone's breathing
comes from problems with
the lungs and the heart.
|
dena_k1974
New User, Becoming EHEALTHy
Joined: 22 Oct 2004 Posts: 5 Location: Pennsylvania
Posted: 10-23-04 22:38pm
I just wanted to say that it sounds like
you have what I have.... Anxiety all the
time and it sounds like the exercise thing
brought it on. My advice to you is to get
a new doctor cuz they arent all like that
and go back on your medicine. I
understand you didnt like the side effects
but you said you were only taking it for a
week. It usually takes 2 weeks for your
body to adjust to the medication and the
side effects will go away and you will
feel so much better. Having a problem
like anxiety does not make you a weak
person. It happened to me, alot of people
I know, and all these wonderful people on
here. Please hang in there like im trying
to do and please get help!
though i'm new to
this forum, i've had my share of anxiety,
and have been experiencing it again
recently after about five anxiety-free
years. The first time around, I had what
I thought were heart-related symptoms that
went away with medication and therapy.
So if your symptoms truly are anxiety,
take heart -- there is hope!
